Photos: Nepal's cliff honey hunters risk their lives

A minor slip could mean falling hundreds of feet and sure death for the hunters

Published: December 08, 2021 16:34 Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor

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Dolakha: High up in Nepal's mountains, groups of men risk their lives to harvest much sought-after wild honey from hives on cliffs. Image Credit: AP

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Trekking hours through the steep mountains, one group led by experienced honey hunter Devi Bahadur Napali carried food, bamboo ropes, sharp bamboo sticks and other tools needed to harvest the honey. Image Credit: AP

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A minor slip could mean falling hundreds of feet (dozens of meters) and sure death for the hunters, who carefully navigated the steep and narrow openings on the mountain. Image Credit: AP

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Before starting to climb a steep cliff high above the Tama Koshi River, Nepali reminded the group to ensure they had enough food, water and local alcohol. Image Credit: AP

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They piled up grass and logs at the bottom of the cliff and lit a fire to smoke the bees out of their hives. Image Credit: AP

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Nepali climbed up a ladder made from bamboo rope with a sharp bamboo stick in one hand and a basket in another _ the stick to break off the hives and the basket to collect them. Image Credit: AP

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Dangling in the air, he sliced off pieces of hives and caught them with the basket, then gave a signal to a teammate to use a rope tied to the basket, full of dripping hives, to lower it to the ground. Image Credit: AP

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Two other team members prepared to clean off all the bees and squeeze the hives to extract the honey. Image Credit: AP

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Thousands of bees hovered over the men's faces, which were protected by face nets. Image Credit: AP

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Nepali's hands were swollen badly. He was stung on his hands, feet and elsewhere on his body. He drinks the alcoholic beverage, he said, to make the pain bearable. Image Credit: AP

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On this day, the group was able to harvest around 34 liters (9 gallons) of honey from the cliff colony. They will be able to sell it at a market for $25 a liter. Image Credit: AP

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Nepalese honey hunters pour cliff honey into a container after harvesting in Dolakha, 115 miles east of Kathmandu, Nepal. Image Credit: AP

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